Fantastic Beasts 2 Team Defend Johnny Depp Casting

J.K. Rowling, author of the wildly popular Harry Potter books and writer/producer of the Fantastic Beasts movies, has come under fire from one British fan, after the author blocked her on Twitter for bringing up the abuse allegations made against Johnny Depp, who plays Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2. The fan, who goes by the Twitter handle @HobbitLindsey, is going viral after she tweeted at J.K. Rowling about how Johnny Depp still gets a role in the Fantastic Beasts movies following allegations that he abused his ex-wife, Amber Heard, while another actor on the original Harry Potter movies, Jamie Waylett, was fired for much less. Here's the original tweet that Lindsey sent to J.K. Rowling below.

"So if I understand correctly the actor who played Crabbe, a minor character, was fired from Harry Potter for doing drugs. Yet Johnny Depp, who abused his wife, gets a major role in your movies? Correct me if I'm wrong, @jkrowling"

Earlier today, the fan woke up only to discover that J.K. Rowling had blocked her because of that one tweet, which she proved by showcasing the original tweet and another image that showed author J.K. Rowling had blocked her. Her original tweet was in reference to Jamie Waylett, who played Crabbe, one of the two main cronies of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), who starred in the first six Harry Potter movies, before he was ultimately fired after being arrested on drug charges. He hasn't appeared in another movie since then, and spent two years in prison for his participation in the 2011 London riots. As for Johnny Depp, he was accused last year of abusing his ex-wife Amber Heard that ultimately lead to the actress filing a restraining order against him during their divorce proceedings, and earlier this year, reports surfaced about his bizarre behavior on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. After learning she was blocked by J.K. Rowling without even responding to her tweet, @HobbitLindsey had this to say over several tweets.

"All those f---ing years of tweeting her love and she not once replied but criticize her once and you get blocked what the actual f--k unstanning so hard. Just so you know i'm not about to burn my Harry Potter books but I am unstanning JK Rowling herself. Anyway I'm not about to become one of these dumb people who burn their Harry Potter books just cause they don't like JK Rowling. You don't have to like the author just to enjoy their books. I will always love Harry Potter I'm just very disappointed that this is who Rowling chooses to be today. I legit tagged her in one f---ing tweet. It's not like I spammed her with hate. I tagged her in one tweet with criticism and she blocks me that goes beyond me I'm incredibly disappointed."

In related news, Fantastic Beasts 2 director David Yates revealed in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly that he defended the decision to cast Johnny Depp, even after the allegations against him surfaced. Warner Bros. recently re-confirmed that Johnny Depp was still playing Grindlewald, despite these allegations, with Heyman revealing that the man he's worked with is "full of decency and kindness." Here's what the director had to say in his full statement.

"Honestly, there's an issue at the moment where there's a lot of people being accused of things, they're being accused by multiple victims, and it's compelling and frightening. With Johnny, it seems to me there was one person who took a pop at him and claimed something. I can only tell you about the man I see every day: He's full of decency and kindness, and that's all I see. Whatever accusation was out there doesn't tally with the kind of human being I've been working with. By testament, some of the women in (Depp's) life have said the same thing - 'that's not the human being we know.' It's very different (than cases) where there are multiple accusers over many years that need to be examined and we need to reflect on our industry that allows that to roll on year in and year out. Johnny isn't in that category in any shape or form. So to me, it doesn't bear any more analysis. It's a dead issue."

J.K. Rowling hasn't said anything publicly on her own Twitter account about why she blocked this fan, and it remains unclear if she plans to address the matter at all. This comes just days after it was revealed that the Fantastic Beasts 2 title will be The Crimes of Grindelwald, which certainly indicates that Johnny Depp's Grindelwald character will play a pivotal role in the sequel. Take a look at all of Lindsey's tweets, courtesy of her HobbitLindsey Twitter account.